How much technology can you cram into a swimsuit?

Check it out:

Making no waves

How cool is that? God, I love technology. Go capitalism!

(Although, an antitrust suit against Speedo? Really? Grow some balls TYR Sport.)

(LL: Geekpress)

A day in the life of...

This is why people think I’m a bit off. This is what I did today:

I woke up obscenely early for me and power smoked a pack of Camels while watching the second half of the episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 during which I fell asleep the night before. When the episode ended I left my room and went into the kitchen to make breakfast: a quesadilla and coffee. With my food prepared, I settled into the old beat up recliner that sits in the living room of the apartment and cracked open Among the Gently Mad by Nicholas A. Basbanes, which is about bibliomania and book-hunting.

Since I was already half-way through this book from the day before, I finished it at about three o’clock. I made some tomato soup, grabbed my laptop and spent the next seven or so hours alternately watching television (when something good came on, like a documentary on the Gospel of Judas, or a program about the search for the true heirs of the Romanovs) or John Waters interviews on my laptop. All of this time was not entirely unproductive, however, as I simultaneously did some sketching (which I am wont to do from time to time), spent some time studying chess strategy (specifically: Sicilian defense opening and the Queen’s Gambit Accepted opening, as well as how to force a win from the Lucena position), and, after that, took some notes on an article in a the new Philosophical Quarterly by Lionel Shapiro called “Naïve Truth-Conditions and Meaning” and a couple of articles in the new Monist entitled “Consciousness as Knowingness” by Colin McGinn and “The Interdependence of Phenomenology and Intentionality” by Adam Pautz. I hated them all, if you’re curious.

I finished just in time for some dark comedy: 30 minutes of Pat Robertson on CBN.

I have to be working on several things at once (and I’m usually reading more than one book at a time) or I feel lazy and get bored. I know a lot of people hate doing that, but I get along just fine.

It’s coming up on eleven o’clock and I’m sitting on the little patio area in front of my apartment with a spiral notebook, a flask of absinthe and a pack of Djarum Blacks. In a minute I’m going in to read the first book of Neal Stephenson’s “Baroque Cycle”, Quicksilver, until the crowd thins out over at House of Pies (about 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning). I will eat their wonderful turkey, bacon and swiss sandwich and drink coffee for several hours while I do some light research.

A typical day. I should probably sleep more, but today was enjoyable enough. At least I am not pissed off…yet.

Long live the new flesh--
Matt

D'Souza on democracy...

Not the video I promised, still working on that. But here is a brief video on Dinesh D'Souza. I'm trying to post more frequently, so bear with me.

Screw PayPal...

Seriously. I hate PayPal more than life itself. I want everyone who ever had anything to do with PayPal's existence dead. I want their families dead. I want their houses burned to the ground.

End rant.

Coming soon to an unknown blog near you...

A few things in the queue. I am working on two papers: one on religion and one on the philosophy of science. And no, I don't feel like being more specific right now. Also working on two videos, one on the position, which is growing in popularity, that the Dark Ages weren't that dark and one on some of the new arguments coming out of that funny little creationism/ID movement. I also intend on posting a more impromptu piece on my experience with contemporary philosophy and philosophers since my first year of college in 2004. The video on the Dark Ages will most likely be up within 24 hours.

Ghouls & Slugs--
Matt

Joy-gasm!

Know what I did today? I went to a bargain book sale, bought copious amounts of knowledge for an exceedingly cheap price, then I came home to my apartment and spent the night reorganizing my library while watching "Inherit the Wind" (the original, not the remake) and "Cyrano de Bergerac" (1950).
It's been a good day.

Ghouls & slugs--
Matt

"Oh god, he's in MY head!!!"

My YouTube account: http://www.youtube.com/user/CaptainGhoul

Most videos will be cross-posted here. Some won't. Enjoy. Or don't.

Ghouls & slugs--

Matt

I think my ears are bleeding

I read a lot of financial publications: BusinessWeek, Investor’s Business Daily and the Wall Street Journal regularly and others when I get around to them. I don’t know why—I suppose I’m a masochist. In a two-hour window I came across these articles.

Freddie Mac loses $151M in 1Q, but beats expectations

Eurozone finance ministers take aim at 'scandalous' executive pay

Exxon: Profit Pirate or Tax Victim?

Well, Freddie Mac, being one of the many government programs responsible for the current "subprime crisis", is hemorrhaging money. $151 million in the first quarter this year and $4.5 billion in the previous two quarters--how about that: a government economic program demonstrating the government's complete inability to deal with matters economic.

And "scandalous" executive pay. I hate this topic so much that I could kick a kitten through a steel fan whenever it comes up. Let's go over this again: A good CEO is indispensable to a corporation. Hell, a competent CEO is still pretty valuable. The CEO must project a very complex, long-range business plan to be successful. As an analogy, there is a reason the quarterback is paid more than the long snapper. A good long snapper is desirable, of course, but a good quarterback is much, much more valuable. (I'm not responsible for that analogy, but I don't recall where I first saw it--it may have been in an article by Andrew Bernstein). And I am not at all surprised that an article on executive pay from AFP begins by referring to executives as "corporate fat cats".

And Exxon is getting reamed for being successful again. The article focuses briefly on the exorbitant taxes the company pays, but not for long. Hilary Clinton is quoted in that article as saying, "There is something seriously wrong with our economy when Exxon's record $11 billion in quarterly profits are seen as a disappointment by Wall Street...This is truly Dick Cheney's wonderland." Really, Hil? That is something a belligerent college freshman with zero knowledge of economics screams at a protest in front of the university library.

And her statement is quite telling. She has dropped even the pretense of assuming that $11 billion is "too much" when others have eared "too little". That a company is earning record profits period is enough to condemn them. That we expect them to earn record profits is indicative of "something seriously wrong with our economy". Beg pardon, but aren't profits good for the economy? I suppose not, when profit-seeking is a trait to be damned as insufficiently self-abnegating.

Lastly, here is an interesting article about the effects of farm subsidies on the "food crisis". It is a decent read until the very end where it calls for the money dumped foolishly into subsidies that distort market prices be dumped foolishly into programs like The World Food Program.

Farm Subsidies are the Real Culprit

I'm going to go take some Advil.

Ghouls and slugs--

Matt

I...just...uh...if...er...WHAT?!

I was going to say something about how religion's abandonment of reason will render religious people incapable of dealing with reality and will inevitably lead them to adopt unquestionably asinine rituals. However, I think this video speaks for itself.



When I see shit like this I'm not sure I could eat the amount I want to vomit.

Ghouls and slugs--
Matt

Still flopping...

Drudging my way through finals at the moment. If anyone is actually reading this, that is my excuse. But here is a little bad-assery to make up for my huge gaps in between posts.



Enjoy.

Ghouls and slugs--
Matt